3 GOYA Basket Ball Practices We will be having practices every Friday evening in the gym as we have been doing in past years from 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm all the way through to May 1 (except 4/10 - Good Friday). Home Games Our home games are all on Sunday afternoons. They will all start with a Jr. Girls game at 2:00 pm, followed by Jr. Boys at 3:00 pm, Sr. Girls at 4:00 pm, Sr. Boys at 5:00 pm and finally Young Adults at 6:00 pm. 3/1 Assumption vs. St. Anthony 3/8 Assumption vs. St. Sophia 3/15 Assumption vs. St. Nicholas 3/29 Assumption vs. St. Basil 4/26 Playoff Semi-Finals at Assumption Away Games 3/22 Assumption at St. John 4/18 Assumption at St. George 4/19 Assumption at St. Katherine 4/25 Playoff Quarter-Finals at St. Nicholas 5/2 Playoff Finals at St. Sophia Camp program in Greece for children of Greeks abroad The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, is offering again the Hospitality Program for Children of Greek descent, at camps in Epanomi and in Malesina, Greece, this summer. In Epanomi, the camp program will take place from July 14 till July 28, In Malesina, it will take place from August 8 till August 21, Deadline for application submission is March 17, 2015 for the camp in Epanomi, and March 19, 2015 for the camp in Malesina. Those interested can submit their application at the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles. Please call (310) , ext Page 14 Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life: for early in the morning my spirit seeks Your Holy Temple... Pastor s Message Dearly Beloved, As we commence our annual journey through the Great Fast, the words of this hymn should resound within us. We began chanting them at the first Sunday of the Triodion and we will continue to hear them throughout our Lenten journey as a continual reminder of the purpose of this holy season: repentance or metanoia. During the Lenten season our Orthodox Faith places the tools of repentance in our hands, inviting us to use them to deepen our relationship with God. The hymn tells us that repentance is found in the holy temple of the Most High God. Naturally when we hear temple we think of our church and the many Lenten services and programs that are set before us. We can find repentance when we partake of the spiritual banquet of Lenten services and educational opportunities offered in our parishes and participate in them, listen to them, and heed their counsel. During Great Lent, the banquet of holy services replaces, or is intended to replace, the banquets and parties that dominate the rest of the year. Our diets will change so that we may focus on the other changes that are needed in our lives. A hymn from Clean Monday (Kathara Deftera) says it best, May this first day of the fast, be for you, my soul, a time of abstinence from sin, of turning towards God and drawing near to Him. Turning toward God also happens in the temple, to be sure, but when we hear temple, we can also understand it to mean the Body of Christ, our fellow parishioners, and our neighbors. Turning toward God and turning away from sin involves turning toward our world and increasing our acts of philanthropy and charity. As we hear on the Sunday of the Last Judgment, Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let this be our way of life: let us feed the hungry, let us give the thirsty drink, let us clothe the naked, let us welcome strangers, let us visit those in prison and the sick. Increasing our philanthropic and charitable activity as individuals, parishes, and as a Metropolis, are just as important during Great Lent as observing the fast. How does replacing a hamburger with shrimp in our diets brings us closer to God or inaugurate His Kingdom when we observe hunger and poverty in our communities? Financial donations, but more importantly, person-to-person, face-toface support, care, and assistance is the command of the Lord. Our Metropolis Strategic Plan calls for an increase in our works of philanthropy and charity. Great Lent places this challenge before us on a daily basis. And whom shall we assist? Our prayers during Lent place no limits on our philanthropic acts and concerns. The Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil, which we will hear for the next five Sundays, offers the gifts for all humanity and concludes with the phrase, and unite us all to one another. The prayer connects us and invites us to identify with all the people that have been named. The prayer is a prayer of catholicity and solidarity for all, no matter their status in life, and with no conditions upon their worthiness for such mention or for our solidarity with them. During the Great Fast we are thus given two interrelated commands: to look inward through the services and ascetic disciplines, and to look outward through acts of philanthropy and charity to our neighbor. Our inward Lenten journey is meant to be an outward Lenten reach to all in need, restoring our proper relationship to all. May these Holy Days of the Great fast which are upon us, be filled with the understanding of God s precepts provided for us during this period, for the salvation of our souls as we prepare to navigate the great ocean of the fast and reach the joy of His Holy Resurrection. With Love in Christ, G E R A S I M O S Metropolitan of San Francisco Page 3

4 What a great start we ve had to 2015! President s Message First, we had an exciting Epiphany Weekend Event, which started with a GOYA Retreat and Lock in Saturday attended by youth as far away as Las Vegas, then an inspiring Liturgy and Epiphany Service led by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, our Throwing of the Cross with almost 20 youth divers, and then capped by a wonderful Luncheon. Thanks again to Fr Christo, our GOYA Advisors Vickie, Lucia, and Maria, and Event Chairman Sam Platis! And then on to FDF in Anaheim, where incredibly ALL OF OUR DANCE GROUPS won medals! As always, our Parish owes our dance instructors and FDF Board a sincere thank you for their passion and time in teaching our Youth how to strive for excellence with hard work and practice, while also being mindful of our goals of teamwork, fellowship and faith. With such full participation across our Panagia Parish, it is hard to overstate the importance of this program to our Youth, their families, but also to our Panagia. I think of it as an Assumption Family Group Vacation where not only we all reconnect with many of our friends from other Parishes, but also serves as an invaluable annual bonding experience between adults within our own Parish. So what is next? GOYA basketball of course. And this year, we will have record participation once again. Yes, our teams are full and overflowing this is a wonderful, visible sign not only of our continued growth, but also of our complete and enthusiastic participation of this important youth program. Our new Athletic Director George Karidakis and our talented Basketball coaches have been working with our players since early January. Keep checking for game schedules in our Panagia bulletin and also our Assumption website event calendar. If you didn t watch any of our games last year, then make it a point to come and cheer our teams and feel the excitement and Assumption spirit after Sunday service on a home game. Each month, I will highlight a focus area which I believe is important to either (1) change, (2) accelerate, or (3) raise its visibility within our community. So here it is for March General Assembly Meetings. Yes we will have our first one of the year Sunday, March 15. But more importantly, how many, if any, did you attend last year? The last couple of years it s been the same, very small number of devoted 60 or so stewards. So how can we change our lightly attended General Assembly Meetings into Family Day at Assumption that we don t want to miss? I already discussed this with Fr. Christos and our Parish Council members in our first meeting of We will change the format to have multiple family oriented activities during each General Assembly day, so that we can start with worshiping together, having a short informative General Assembly Meeting for our stewards running concurrently with youth activities on the grounds and in the gym, and then having lunch in the form of pot lucks, bake offs,or BBQ s. Please make it a personal goal to attend at least two of these in 2015 with your entire family! Lastly, I want to thank our three outgoing Parish Council Members from 2014 for their years of important contribution to Assumption: Olympia Stapakis for her multiple terms as Parish Council President and a driving force in building of our Assumption Center, Kathy Bastas for leading our Stewardship Committee and her efforts in growing our Panagia, and Nick Zamvakellis with his tireless efforts on our 3 rd Building Committee and multiple terms as Parish Council Treasurer. I d also like to congratulate two first time members to our Parish Council Athena Mantas who was elected Treasurer, Savvas Roubanis, and returning member Max Lofton. Other elected officers include Jim Eleopoulos as Vice President, Jim Mentas as Recording Secretary, and Chris Dolas as Corresponding Secretary. Chris, as you know, just completed two terms as President and presided over an exciting and very important transition when we welcomed and supported Fr. Christos in his first two years here at Assumption and when we also opened our Assumption Center. Thank you Chris for your leadership, which was a real key factor in our Panagia having great momentum at the end of 2014! Stavros, Tom Stavroudis, Toula Stevenson, Gus & Leona Sullos, James & Vickie Syrengelas, Dino & Dora Syrengelas, Michael & Elizabeth Syrengelas, Soteria Talaganis, Ernest Talaganis, Nick & Amy Tavlarides, Angelo & Mary Terzis, Constantinos & Suzanna Thermos, Jerry & Ellie Thibault, Irene Trigonis, Tula Tzortzakis, Georgis Vackrinos, Catherine Varzak, Darlene Vasilomanolakis, Dr. Mike & Niki Vasilomanolakis, Francine Vassiliades, John Vlachos, Dino & Helen Vorris, Athansios & Niki Xagorarakis, Alexandros & Denise Zarifes, Angie Zoolakis, Anthony & Kari Zoumberakis, Stelio & Stacy GO ASSUMPTION! Dave Matty, P. C. President Page 4 Page 13

7 Announcements BEST WISHES BAPTISM 2/21/15 Archer Lynn Atwater Xagorarakis Proud Parents: Alexandros & Denise Xagorarakis Sponsor/Nonos: Constantin Bounas Congratulations! From The Choir Loft TALENT! TALENT! TALENT! Remember the date? MAY 16 TH and the choir is on a talent hunt for anyone who wants to participate in an evening of fun, fun, fun. Don t hide your talent under a bushel. We would like to hear your idea or ideas by March. 15 th. Watch the Sunday Bulletin for reminders. Hope to hear from you soon. Assumption Philoptochos Won t You Join Us For a WITH SYMPATHY To Tina Apostle and family for the loss of her mother Katina Kanavaros on 1/28/15. May her memory be eternal. To Nicolle and Stephanie Liakos for the loss of their mother Joanne Liakos on 2/13/15. May her memory be eternal. To Petsas family for the loss of George Petsas on 2/15/15. May his memory be eternal. HOLY WEEK AND EASTER FLOWERS With your help, Katy Georgedes will adorn our church. Flowers needed for Palm Sunday, Nymphios, Crucifixion, and Resurrection icons. Also, for the Epitaphios (Christ s tomb), and Easter lilies to decorate the Church for Easter. Thank you for your generosity. March s Prosforo Prosforo for the month of March is donated by Costa and Cecilia Kourtis. Thank you. If you would like to donate our Sunday prosforo please call the church office a Cecilia, Zoe, or Karen CONGRATULATIONS We extend our congratulations to: Anastasia Thelxiope Matty who participated at 2015 Debutante Presentation at St. Sophia s. Bookstore The bookstore schedule for 2015 will be as follows: March 1, March 15, March 22 April 3, April 5 May 3, May 17, May 31 June 14, June 21 July 12, July 26 Aug.9, Aug. 14 & 15 & 16, Aug. 23 Sept 5,6,7-Festival, Sept. 20, Sept. 27 Oct. 11, Oct. 25 Nov. 8, Nov. 22, Nov. 29 Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Dec. 20 Don t miss out the new arrivals for Pascha including the red egg dye from Greece. Zoe Falley, Bookstore Administrator Page 10 Cup of Tea in Honor of Our Members? March 8, :30pm Betty Reckas Hall RSVP no later than March 1, 2015 Seating is limited -- $30.00 donation Kindly RSVP to Kay Platis Checks payable to Assumption Philoptochos Harrisburg Dr. -- Los Alamitos, CA Interested in hosting a table? Contact Bobbie Page 7

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